A Window into Warnerland

Monday, June 4, 2012

So, when the season ends, we I have the tendency to pull my family in, become very selfish with our time, and wrap us up into this little Warner cocoon. The bad news is that I kinda tune out from the rest of the world. That's not entirely true... we have had A LOT going on... but keeping up with emails, texts, and blogs is not high on my list of to-do's. But I'm back, I tell you! After much hibernation and relaxation, I have finally downloaded 3 months worth of pictures from my camera and phone. They aren't all here, but here is a short history of what we've been up to since March:

1. We made it to the Final 4.

2. We pierced.

Brave girl.

3. We became VERY independent.

Two favorite phrases: "Do it myself" and "I did it!"

Upside: no more paci!

4. We danced.

5. We graduated.

{from Kindergarten}

{from Pre-K}

6. We flower girl-ed and ring bearer-ed

... a couple of times.

7. We said good-bye to schools and schedules.

8. We beached.

The Protector

The Mermaid

The Girl You'd Love to Know

On a more serious note...

Chad tore the meniscus in both knees and is having his
first of two surgeries tomorrow. The tender-hearted Aly has cried
on-and-off all day, really concerned that Chad is going to die.
Caroline, in typical-fashion, is oblivious not at all worried and keeps asking, "What does Aly keep crying about?" Oh, the difference a sister makes!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

What a difference a year makes. Although the season can be long and tiring, I feel like my hard-working coach is finally getting a chance to enjoy some fruits of his labor; basketball has definitely been an unbelievable ride this year. I've said before that from October until mid-March, basketball season is a very demanding family member, but this year it is one that has provided us with excitement and hopeful expectation.

Saturday night, the team won the conference tournament (after already winning the regular season conference title.) The celebration was a far cry from the way that our season ended last year. Now, onto Kansas City for the National Tournament!

Chad, named Coach of the Year, cutting down the nets at the end of the tournamentand celebrating with the team.

(please excuse the amateur videography...but I had to try to show my 5'10' white husband getting down with the best of 'em!)

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Whew. I guess I should say that time has flown and I can't believe that he's that old but honestly, I must say that we have truly enjoyed everyday we've had with him. I feel like with Aly, I hurried through her stages; I guess I "grew her up" myself. I hurried Caroline through her baby stages because that seemed to be the best way to survive a fussy baby, new job, and two moves. But there is no "hurrying" with Jack. We all baby him, and, frankly, I think he enjoys being babied. He likes for ALL of us to come into his room and get him in the morning. And so we often all do. He likes for ALL of us to have glow parties with flashlights under the covers in our bedroom. He likes for us ALL to watch him shoot baskets on his hoop-- and he likes for us ALL to cheer for him! He loves to make us laugh and loves to laugh-along with our jokes. He absolutely adores "Abu" ("Aly Boo") and "Sis" (Caroline.) He practically comes out of his skin with excitement when he sees Chad, and is never happier than when he's in the presence of the basketball team or at the gym. He still has a complete fascination with trash, and is able to pick out even hidden garbage trucks and dumpsters around town. He likes to sit next to us when we read to him but is absolutely jealous if anyone else takes his position on my lap.

It's been a great 2 years of loving our always-and-forever Baby Boy!

Smile! It's your birthday!!

New Big-Boy seat

We hit all the different restaurants and celebrated at breakfast,

Lunch,

and Dinner

A Baseball tee, just in case the basketball scholarship falls through!

The plan was to celebrate Jack's birthday this past Sunday at home. But due to a funeral and the inability to move the party to another day, we ended up crashing the nearby McDonalds and enjoyed Happy Meals and cake. I must say, everyone had a great time and we came home to a clean house! Not too bad!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

He doesn't know it, but Jack is getting a booster seat for his birthday tomorrow, so that he can join us at the kitchen table. The high chair is being retired after 6 years of being part of our kitchen (3 different kitchens, actually). My last baby ate his last meal at this high chair tonight. To say that I'm feeling emotional about him growing up is a BIG understatement!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

She's got the shortest name in the family, but the most nicknames. "Bug", "Little Girl", "Boogs", "Boogs Magee", "Als", "Aly Cat", "Aly-Cookie, "Aly-Boo", "Aggie", and "Abu".

And on Thursday, we celebrated her sixth birthday. She may be about sixteen on the inside, but she'll always be our little girl.

Birthday Breakfast at Panera

and snack at school

For her birthday, she asked that we make the trip to see Daddy's game on Thursday night. It was a tough game to go to, rather a mob-like atmosphere. At the conclusion of the game, Caroline was crying because she was scared of the crowd, Jack was crying because it was well-past bedtime, but the birthday girl was crying because the Hawks took their first loss to end their 22-game perfect season. It struck me how similar our little girl is to this famous face:

About Us

Chad: coach of the Shorter University basketball team
Karin: stay-at-home mom
Aly: 6 years old
Caroline: 4 years old
Jack: 2 years old
Moving back to Rome and into this house marks our 12th move since we've been married! But we are loving being back in Chad's hometown and getting to watch our family grow. We are blessed to have friends and family here in Rome, along with others in Texas, New York, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Kenya and more! We love this adventure called LIFE which the Lord takes us on everyday!